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Dagatian
Classification and Dialects Dagatian is an isolated language spoken in Dagatia (a Caucasian country). Phonology Consonants Vowels The first symbol in the two tables is always the sound and the second one is how it's written. Grammar Nouns Nouns in Dagatian may be masculin or feminine and are accorded to 12 noun cases. The words shown to explain you the case endings depending on the gender are her (=man) and lara (=woman). # Just the primary cases (nominative, accusative, dative and genitive) make the difference between the animate and inanimative interrogative pronoun (who and what). # The interrogative pronouns aren't accorded to any of both gender. # The interrogative pronouns don't have a plural # A masculine noun may be changed into the feminine gender by adding the suffix '-ka', e.g. mitilj (=an artist - general/masculine) -- mitilj'ka' (=an artist - '''feminine) Definitiness # The neutral definitiness ending '''-de expresses that the noun is definite, e.g. her'de '(='''the' man'') # The proximal definitiness ending '-ge' expresses that the noun is near to the speaker, e.g. her'ge' (='''this' man'') # The distal definitiness ending '-ve' expresses that the noun is far from the speaker, e.g. her've' (='''that' man'') Adjectives Adjectives are exactly declined like nouns and have the same endings. Adjectives in Dagatian are always before the noun, e.g. bav her (='''beautiful' man''). A definitiness ending may also be added to the adjective, but can't be doubled to the noun, e.g. bav'de' her (='''the' beautiful man''), but not : bav'de' her'de' or bav her'de'. Comparative '' The comparative is formed by adding the suffix '-ne''' to the adjective, e.g. bav'ne' (='''more' beautiful''). The comparision is done by putting the adjective in the comparative and the compared noun in the equative, e.g. Koliċge va bavne koliċeṙve. (=This car is '''faster than that car'.) ''Superlative '' The superlative is formed by adding the prefix '''poj-' to the adjective in the comparative form, e.g. poj'bavne (='''most beautiful''). The superlative form can be even exaggerated by adding the suffix '-le', but it's very archaic and just used for poetic purposes, e.g. Pojbavane'le'de lara jaṣt. (=You are the most beautiful woman '''I've ever seen' / in this world...) Verbs The ground form of a verb is the infinitive present ending in '-ak'. As exemple for the conjugations I'll take the verb '''rak' (=to do); the stem of this verb is r-'''. The verb '''erak (=to be) is irregular. Indicative # It's used to describe actions in the present moment, e.g. Ras tjetradem ġej. (='''You're doing' your homework.) # It's used to describe repetitive actions lasting til the present moment, e.g. '''Eṣtam' bolkam ṣequ zoru. (='''I eat' an apple every morning.) # It's used to describe future actions which are scheduled, e.g. Avtobusde '''ela' 14:50'u. (=The bus '''comes' at 14:50.) # It's used to describe actions begining in the past, but lasting til the present, e.g. '''Vujuvatam' hem ṣeqad. (='''I've' always guided him.) # It's used to describe actions in the past having brought a result in the present moment, e.g. '''Heratera'. (='''It has rained'. - the raining was in the past, but the result is that the street are now wet in the present'') # It's used to describe actions in the past which are finished and completed, e.g. Ris tjetradem ġej. (='''You did' your homework.) # It's used to describe actions in the past which are ongoing and aren't finished or completed, e.g. Qad elis, '''rax' tjetradem ġej. (=When you came, '''I was doing' my homework.) # It's used to describe habitual actions in the past, e.g. Batar mej '''riżodat' ṣequ zeju parkuge. (=My father '''used to walk' every day in this park.) # Notice clearly the difference between the verb '''erak' in the aorist and in the imperfect : in the aorist the state of being of the subject is completly accomplished, but in the imperfect the state of being of the attribute is accomplished, e.g. Batar mej eri lekar. (=My father '''was' a doctor. - aorist, my father (subject) is dead''), but : Batar mej derat lekar. (=My father '''was' a doctor. - imperfect, my father is still alive, but isn't any more a doctor (attribute)) # It's used to describe non-accomplished, ongoing past actions occuring before another action in the past, e.g. Ajtes elis, '''raterax' tjetradem ġej. (=Before you came, '''I had been' doing my homework.) # It's used to describe past action which are indefinite in time and subject, e.g. Zeqad zeqi '''voraterat' "Iṣka va pojbavnelede njeco.". (=Sometime someone '''told' "Love is the most beautiful thing in this world.". - but you could also say : Zeqad zeqi vori... ; aorist, but it doesn't sound very familiar'') # It's used to describe finished and completed past actions occuring before another action in the past, e.g. Ajtes batar mej derat lekar, studirateri medicinam universitetu. (=Before my father was/became a doctor, '''he had studied' medicines at university.) # It's used to describe near future actions which are already planed and where it is sure they are going to happen, e.g. '''Elami' Rusjaj. (='''I'm going' to Russia. - with instence that the action of going is near, the flight tickets are already bought etc.) # It's used to describe near future actions which can be conclued by evidences, e.g. '''Heraji'. (='''It's going to rain'. - the speaker sees dark grey clouds, it's begining to be wet and colder etc. the speaker concludes it by evidences'') # It's used to describe future actions, e.g. Elem Rusjaj. (='''I'll' go to Russia.) # It's used to describe anterior actions to another future action, e.g. Ajtes eles Rusjaj, '''eterem' Islandju. (=Before you'll go to Russia, '''I'll have been' in Island.) # It's used to describe future actions in the past, e.g. Kaṣti Peter'e ṣi poslje '''eleje'. (=He spoke to Peter and then '''he would go/went'. - even if in English stylisticly it isn't very accepted to say "and then he would go...", it's very common in Dagatian, since the going occured after the speaking'') # It's used to describe anterior actions to another future action in the past, e.g. Poslje djeje mi tvjeḍes, hites he ċupateje gjes. (=Later on, he would give/gave me flowers, after '''he would have bought/he had bought/buying' them. - again the use of the future past perfect in English sounds unfamiliar, but it's completly normal for Dagatian.) ''Subjunctive Syntax Lexicon Example text